BRUNEI TIMES (Brunei Darussalam) 26 January 07 Slithering, hissing, scary pets (Dewi Mohd Sofri)
Bandar Seri Begawan: Aspiring ophiologist Mohd Mustaqim Soh Abdullah has been fascinated with reptiles ever since he was in primary school, an interest that did not sit well with his parents.
"My mother was scared but now that I am an adult, they understand and support what I do," says Mustaqim.
Together with his long-time friend Mohd Marwan, Mustaqim collects reptiles, mostly snakes, from North America, Africa, Pakistan, India, Russia and China.
Some of the snakes in his collection include the boa python, hog snake and albino nelson snake. The snakes' diet consists of small animals such as lizards and rodents with side dishes of small mammals, birds, eggs, worms or insects.
Mustaqim feeds his scaly pets live rodents such as mice and rats. Sometimes, for a change of taste, instead of live rodents, they are given frozen ones.
"Snakes are very simple to take care of. Cats and dogs excrete waste everyday but as snakes only eat once or twice a month, they do not excrete as much," explains Mustaqim.
Since snakes do not need to be fed daily, the cost of maintaning them is also low.
"Mice costs $4 each, in a month we spend about $12 on food depending on the type and size of snake. The cost of keeping them alive increases as they grow bigger and longer.
"They can last for two weeks to a month without eating and have a long life span up to 30 years for boa pythons," says Mustaqim.
Although the majority of his collection comprises different kinds of snakes, the 28-year-old also collect lizards and iguanas.
"We don't collect house lizards but rather the ones with unique patterns on their skins such as the leopard lizard."
In one of the many aquariums he keeps, there are also a few tarantulas, which Mustaqim says are easy to maintain.
"Just as long as their water bowls are filled up, they can last up to two months without food. They eat insects," shares Mustaqim, who recommends crickets.
Mustaqim says he has handled venomous snakes before, but has never been bitten by one. "I'm not frightened because I can handle them. Like any other herpetologist, the possibility of getting bitten is always expected. I don't want to get bitten but I expect it, that is why I'm prepared," Mustaqim says.
They have some anti-venom, which functions to delay the poison from spreading through the bloodstream. "But only for an hour, as snake bites are deadly and you must get to the hospitable as soon as possible," warns Mustaqim.
Most of the snakes they have are harmless, though. Young and small "they won't bite", he says. The boa python named "Girl" is so tame that they let it loose around the house.
"Sometimes we lose track of her but we don't worry, she will show up eventually," shrugs Mustaqim.
To gain the confidence of the public, one must learn the proper way of handling and maintaining the snakes, says Mustaqim. Instead of becoming afraid, he would like to spark an interest in the locals about these exotic animals and reptiles and teach them to admire one of the many creations of God.
"Brunei is a good country but there is not much entertainment for people to get involved in. When they go overseas, they visit the zoos and also exotic exhibition. Why not bring the snakes and other exotic animals here?"
This idea of exhibiting their collection came to him about a year ago and the desire to share the beuaty of nature spurred him to delved deeper into the kingdom of ophidians.
To learn more about the exotic reptiles, he turns to the Internet and surfs websites aside from purchasing books and magazines.
Mustaqim would also take the initiative to meet up with people who are experienced in handling the snakes to have discussions.
"A lot of people do not have certificates but are experienced and really know about these reptiles. I self-learn but want to gain more knowledge," Mustaqim says of his future plans this year to take short Ophiology courses in Australia.
Slithering, hissing, scary pets